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Post by nevermore9 on Oct 18, 2009 17:47:42 GMT -8
The sunlight poured in over the dusky outcropping of sylvan divinity, ancient forest-giants peering over the world-weary asphalt of the parking lot to such an auspicious academy with a gaze that had not been removed for many centuries. The lot, despite its obvious repeated use, seemed to have aged gracefully - innocently almost. But today, that would change. Yes, the eyes of the forest now blazed with conviction and spite, their naivety repaid ten-fold by a knife in the back.
Glass fell to the ground with a quiescent tone that was shamefully proceeding the resounding bang that had given it meaning; no alarm had gone off in the car thus-far to signal an encore of attention. This was a symphony with only one chair to be filled, and that seat was taken by a massive, umbrageous figure decked in the darkest of leather and an even darker countenance that let hair-hidden tourmaline eyes run up and down the still vibrating bat in admiration.
It was shortly after that James reached into the old car that betrayed its vintage with a modern stereo-system, his now glass-covered great-coat doing a number on the paint-job. He easily pried off the operations panel and slipped it into one of the abysmal pockets of the coat to be forgotten until it was pawning time. He ducked back out of the window and gave a satisfied grin the horrified nothingness that surrounded him, taking pride in knowing that at this time of the day, whichever poor sucker that owned the vehicle would be in class, working on an education for a job that would probably give them enough financial security to afford another stereo for the taking.
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Post by Alora on Oct 19, 2009 9:52:25 GMT -8
Ace had been walking casually through the school parking lot when she heard a crash of glass. It sounded very familiar to her, Almost like returning home. She could tell it was a car's window by the sound it made, as she had learned how to differentiate between a normal window and a car's window. One tended to be thicker you see. Her dark eyes glanced around, a small smile on her face, as she tried to track who it was that was breaking into whatever car it was that was being, well, violated.
She came across James. "Yo." She greeted, smirking broadly. "Haven't seen crime for a long time. Nice job too, good thing that car hadn't any alarm eh?" She said loudly, "Although, the whole thing is downgraded a bit by the trench-coat thing." She looked him over with a shake of the head, "A bit too emo for my taste- I'd prefer to work comfortably." She motioned to her own clothes. Although basically rags of what they once were, one could faintly tell that the jeans were blue, and the top was black. She wore self-studded sneakers with wore through soles, not that they really mattered. "Anyway, point is, mind if I help ya steal shit?"
She shrugged, "Got nothing better to do." At 17 years of age, Ace should go to school, but she didn't feel like they were worth her time. She pulled at her ponytail, boredly, "With my luck, it's not like we run any risk of getting caught." She caught herself and nearly laughed, "Well, if you don't want my help, that's fine. You can just go fuck yourself so." She watched the expressions on his face- Something she had gotten quite good at doing playing poker over the span of her life. Her own face was a blank sheet- another quality she picked up from the tables.
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Post by nevermore9 on Oct 19, 2009 13:55:43 GMT -8
Oh, James liked this one - every little vocal witticism and mental twitch put purpose to his slowly forming grin. Though it was barely visible through his overly-long, two toned locks, one could tell it was there. It was like that impending doom that you would not see or hear, but you knew of its existence and, though you would be assured that it could not be avoided, you would always have a little knot in your stomach and a bad taste in your mouth.
He listened to the girl's little offer, using his ears second to his mind as it reached out to touch her true intentions. He could tell she had something to hide, but it wasn't anything pertaining to him; it was more of that she just wanted to have something to hide. He wanted a challenge and was therefor not willing to let himself take a peek into her head beyond her obvious emotions and pull.
"I'm hurt, really," he responded to her with a devilish sarcasm, running his finger down the massive coat, his fingers accustomed to the several nicks and mends that had been made to it over its lifespan; when he played with the flaps, the smell of cigar smoke wafted up to his face in an all-too-familiar manner. "But you're right, this thing can be over-bearing and a little emo. It's utilitarian, mostly." He went on to use his free hand to point to another car off in the corner of the parking lot that looked to be composed of several cannibalized pieces of what could have once been called vehicles. "I'm willing to bet that thing has a laptop under the back right passenger's seat. The owner probably is more concerned about what they do outside of the vehicle rather than inside, so I doubt the sucker has bothered to add an alarm to the junk-heap."
James gave a little bow to the girl as he tossed the bat in a half-circle above his hand, catching the broad side and extending the handle out to her, peaking up into her countenance with a back-lighting fire warming his emerald eyes. "Would you like to do the honors?"
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Post by Alora on Oct 19, 2009 14:26:33 GMT -8
Ace laughed, "Yeah sure, sounds good." She said with a small grin of her own. She went into the back seat and rummaged around on the floorboards for a minute. Finally, she lifted a big black retangular package from beneath the seat. "Well, I think this is it... What a gay place to hide a laptop..." Ace commented. She shrugged, "Although I don't really hide laptops, I wouldn't know. When I get a laptop, I usually get real sick of it. Give it away or tear it up for fun." She laughed conversationally, "It's even better if you tear it up while it's still plugged it." She laughed, "Far better than some shitty TV show." She added with a nod. Personally, she akinned it to putting a CD in the microwave. Only less colorful.
She handed the laptop to the guy. "I'm Ace, By the way." She said, holding out her hand to shake. "But seriously, did you just curtsy or something?" She smirked, "I don't know if that qualified as a 'bow'. No need to be so fsckin' formal anyway 'sport'." She patted him on the shoulder.
From there, she started to walk towards another car, picking one entirely at random. "It's risky to do two cars in one 'lot." She said, as if taunting him with the knowledge. She said 'risky' as if it was the name of some exotic dancer. (Somewhere in the world, it probably is.) Never the less, Ace set to work by pulling at the handle firstly. It opened effortlessly. "Well wouldja look at that." She said in mock awe, "Someone forgot to lock their car. . . fucking morons." She found a packet of chips in a bag in the backseat, unopened. She opened it and took a few bites, completely oblivious that she might have to hurry up and look around for something, hmm, I don't know... Valuable?
"What's your name dude? Wanna chip?" She offered the bag with an expression that suggested that handing him the bag was some great honor and privilege for him that he didn't really deserve.
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Post by nevermore9 on Oct 19, 2009 15:07:48 GMT -8
James was having a substantial share of fun that he wasn't sure he was up for with this girl. His eyes drifted along her body as she reached into the first car to retrieve the laptop, painting a clear target on the small of her back. He was known to do this to every girl with a semi-decent body and a 'what-the-fuck' attitude towards life. He would simply stare innocently into her eyes to make up for what he was affixed to moments before.
When she came to the unlocked car, he could not help but shrug; this girl obviously had been dipped in a vat of melted playing cards that won fortunes galore when she was born. James knew that he was trying his luck right now, also, simply by being around her. This was uncommon of him to do; he had always considered crime a one-man operation, especially with his little 'gift'.
He stood there contemplating the texture of the greasy little abomination that probably hadn't seen a potato from fifty feet away in its entire life. He wasn't reluctant to deny free food, however, and quickly plucked it from the girl's hand before answering her previous question, chewing as he spoke.
"Most people call me Eric. Of course, I don't figure you to be most people, so we'll just say my name is James and leave it at that." He swallowed a dry mouthful of the crunchy semi-food with a grimace, blinking stupidly for a moment or two. "And what do you call yourself?"
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Post by Alora on Oct 20, 2009 7:24:01 GMT -8
Ace blinked, "Most people call me 'Bitch' I guess, if your going to talk 'bout the majority. Didn't I just finish saying that I'm Ace?" She said with a raised eyebrow. "Damn kid, you got any other name, though? Eric, James... Ever considered Frank? Maybe I could just call you 'Jamerics' Eh?" She devoured the snacks quickly. Although the chips never have seen potatoes, neither had she. She related to Chips. Them and her were on the same page.
Earlier, She hadn't noticed at all that he was staring at her. This was perhaps entirely due to the fact that she was turned in the other direction. If she had seen though, there would have been trouble. Ace had a big habit of trying to kick people's asses whenever they attempted any advance whatsoever. Psychologically, this could probably be linked to her mother having been a hooker, and her hatred for that woman. Ace wasn't a Psychologist. Hell, she doesn't even know what 'subconcious' even IS, let alone psychology. So, obviously, She didn't realise this.
She felt her smirk grow a little wider, "Well why don't you figure I'm not like other people? I suppose it must just be my awesomeness, leaking from every pore, isn't it? Don't you dare fuckin' deny it!" She was as loud as ever, really. She raised her chin a little, proud for being who she was.
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Post by nevermore9 on Oct 20, 2009 17:43:48 GMT -8
James didn't really have the patience to go into just why he had asked her name after she had previously mentioned it. He often got what came through the mental passage and the sonic passage confused, which led him to forget the fact that she hadn't really told him her birth name. He was getting damned good at distinguishing lies just by the 'feel' of the thoughts, even when he wasn't reading them. He was also getting damned good at not taking precautions to assure he didn't let his little 'secret' slip.
"I wasn't going to deny your awesomeness! Hell, you haven't cried for men to come handcuff me yet, so that puts you above the list of other whiny bitches that I can't be around for more than a minute without gagging," James fondled the black bag around a bit between his hands before setting it on the ground, laying it flat with a press of his boot. He began to ambiguously pick some dirt from under his nails, basking in the silence that proceeded his words. It was only a little rest before his attention was turned back to the matter at hand.
"But, I don't really see that as what sets you apart from the rest of the crowd. What really does it has to be the honesty - people seem to forget that telling the truth once-in-a-fucking-while and not denying your intuitions can get you somewhere," if James was bullshitting her, he was doing a damned good job at it - every word he said was spoken as if there was zealous drive behind it. He even added in a breathy tone to authenticate it.
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Post by Alora on Oct 22, 2009 10:49:27 GMT -8
Ace did a double-take and gave him a quizzical look. Was he really picking his nails or not? It was so ambiguous! She shook her head. "What, sorry? Oh..." She ran over the last few sentences in her mind again, then paused.
"Wait, people handcuff you? Wow, you kinky son of a bitch." she said before swelling with pride. "And normal people suck by the way. I'm way more kickass than them." she said smirkily, then leaned in and whispered in a conspiratorial tone, "Everyone envies me, you know."
Ace had a very high opinion of herself. While a straight compliment would more than likely end up getting you a busted head, the kind of overblown flattery he had given her had no effect other than to enlarge her already overgrown ego. Which was no mean feat, considering it was already larger than Seto Kaiba's.
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Post by nevermore9 on Oct 22, 2009 15:25:15 GMT -8
((Nice Seto reference XD))
James could feel the heat of the girl's skin through the thin air of the diminishing gap - that is, unless it was actually his own. He gave an indulging wink in response to her statement about him being kinky, making sure that enough hair had been relocated for it to be seen. He found the fact that the girl thought so highly of herself relieving - most people who did so would hide it with philanthropy and other charitable work that was ultimately for the good side of public opinion to show favor to them.
"I can see why," James returned the hushed tone to Ace, his lips gone awry to form a hybrid of a smile, a grin, and a .50 caliber that was sinful just for existing. He stood up completely straight, careful not to take a step back onto the valuable piece of equipment that lay behind him. "But just what is it that you enjoy doing on your off-time from being awesome?"
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Post by Alora on Oct 23, 2009 11:21:48 GMT -8
"I don't get time off from being awesome," Ace said in a mock world-weary tone. "It's a twenty-four hour job, but I'm up for it." She straightened herself up and stretched her arms out to the side. "But just being awesome alone can be boring, so I do other stuff as well. Like pwn people's asses and shit. I try watch TV but assholes keep stealing it outta my apartment. Poker night is on Thursdays."
She dropped her arms down and tilted her head. "So, do you just steal cars or do you do other illegal shit, Mr Chained-To-The-Bedpost Jamerics."
((Ugh, can't think of anything else to say.))
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Post by nevermore9 on Oct 24, 2009 12:25:06 GMT -8
"I just try to have fun," James' tone suggested that he wasn't about to take a break from enjoying himself, doing a once over of the girl with a satisfied little release of air, "I worry about the laws after I'm done with that. And as for being strapped to the bed, well, can't say that's inaccurate."
James proceeded to begin to pace in two step intervals, his coat audibly sweeping against the ground, loose fragments of pavement rolling on with his boots. He began to dig in his coat with a patience indicative of a man who had forever to live. For James, it was quite the opposite, but he wasn't too worried. After a bit of tedious fishing and painful pricks from sharp objects, he produced a handgun that could easily be mistaken for a hybrid of a revolver and a cannon. He spun it around his finger once or twice, the weight causing his arm to be tense. He stopped the weapon to that the barrel faced towards him, the handle extending out to ace, his finger still lingering at the trigger with familiar pleasure.
"Lots of kids want toy robots to play with, but I was a bit different," James nodded down at the gun, the steel catching the light and splaying it in an all too innocent fashion. "Go ahead, take it. It'll bring you back to kindergarten...or, at least, it does it for me."
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Post by Alora on Oct 24, 2009 12:58:16 GMT -8
Ace took the handle of the gun cautiously. She had handled one before obviously, but she didn't ever use it. If anything, she preferred her throwing cards. Slice through anything they would. She had always been involved in crime since a very early age herself, but it never involved murder. "So you kill people eh? That's not very nice." She said. Nonetheless, she looked the gun over and tried to memorize it's shape so she could later identify it.
"You went to Kindergarden? Dweeb." She turned on the safety of the gun and stuck it in the waistband of her jeans. "I didn't bother with such shit when I was a kid. I had more important things to do." She watched him pace and paused for a moment. "Whatcha thinkin' bout?" she wondered aloud. He seemed to have something on his mind. Not that she cared.
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Post by nevermore9 on Oct 24, 2009 15:29:41 GMT -8
James wondered, out of all the things the girl could have asked, why she had chosen to inquire as to what his head was trying to wrap itself around. That was possibly the worst thing you could ask someone who was too busy trying to read your mind to care about theirs. He simply sighed at her uninformed insults, looking up into the sky for a moment or two before taking a gander back at her.
"I'm just thinking about what you're thinking," it wasn't a lie in the sense that the words were true, even if the way he said it didn't quite agree with the truth - he would hate to have to lie to her this early on. "And I've never had to kill anyone with that gun. I only have six shells for it. Open it up, count 'em." James knew full-well that there wouldn't be a single empty slot in the cylinder; he might as well put a sign that said no vacancy on the thing, as the weight from the rounds was distinguishable from an empty revolver.
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Post by Alora on Oct 24, 2009 16:01:14 GMT -8
Ace looked at him and gave a short laugh, "And of course, you think you know what I'm thinking." She said with a raised eyebrow. "I'm not as transparent as you seem to think." She proceeded to take out the gun once again from her jeans and open up the cylinder and found it full.
However, this meant nothing to her. She couldn't count.
"You could have just filled it up, ya know..." Ace said, distrusting of people. "Just cuz it's full now, doesn't mean you didn't use some before." She looked at it for a minute, "It doesn't matter anyway. If you ever did shoot someone, I just don't want to know about it... Kay?" She gave a kind of half smile and put the gun away safely once again.
Her stomach gave a loud grumble, "Damn, those chips did Fuck all for my stomach. I'm hungry." She complained over her belly-sounds.
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Post by nevermore9 on Oct 24, 2009 16:18:17 GMT -8
For a moment or two, James thought what he was hearing was a strange feedback from the girl's mind. It took him a while to realize that it was coming from a different place entirely. He couldn't help but look stupid as his head looked into her stomach without much consideration for the air of oddness that would proceed the action. He rolled his eyes when Ace mentioned the fact that she wasn't transparent. Everybody around James was, if he chose them to be. He still didn't care to tap into the girl's direct thoughts, knowing full-well that he would be bored within minutes if he began to file through her head.
"Well," he said more to her stomach than to her, confused which one was more pertinent over the other, "I'm new here - want to take one of these things and treat me to a snack somewhere?" James wasn't hungry - in the orphanages, he learned to block out hunger, treating it as something secondary - something that could always be dealt with later. He also learned never to dodge a free meal. James nodded in the general direction of the gun, still focused on the girl's midsection. "You may want to hide that thing a little better...unless you are hoping to make a few bucks off of the restaurant."
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Post by Alora on Oct 24, 2009 16:39:51 GMT -8
Ace shook her head, "Nope, I'm not putting it away. Where we're going, nobody will really care, trust me." She gave him a pat on the shoulder and then realised he wasn't looking at her really, but at her midsection. She glanced down and glanced up again, "Are you checking out my stomach? That's... kind of fucked up. . . Stop it." She then placed her hand back by her side and gave a sigh.
"I could treat you I guess, but I don't really feel like it. I won't use money, I'll barter or some shit like that... I have a lot of poker chips I guess that will do..." She checked her back pocket to make sure the 10 or so that she had on her were still there. Good. No one had robbed them like she suspected they would.
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Post by nevermore9 on Oct 24, 2009 16:52:47 GMT -8
"Maybe you should tell it to stop being so loud?" James suggested, though he did manage to break his gaze off from the gastrointestinal bewilderment. As he finished his statement, he took up the laptop and threw aside the bat, moving at an unstable pace towards the first car he had broken into, realizing the irony in the thought that he was about to replace the radio to exactly where it was. He reached in through the previously cleared out window and found the button that would unlock the rest of the doors.
He proceeded to toss the laptop into the back seat from where he was, quickly opening up the driver door for Ace and motioning to the pristine black wheel. "You know how to get this thing running, right?" He didn't really seem to doubt it, as he was already on his way to the passenger's seat.
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Post by Alora on Oct 24, 2009 17:08:44 GMT -8
Ace nodded, "I learned how to hotwire cars when I was 6." She said sternly. She proceeded to do just that, flipping up the hood and setting to work. She pressed down the hood and got into the driver's seat. "Um, You might just wanna hang on..." She grinned and put the beast into reverse, getting out of the parking space and then swerving recklessly towards the exit. This might be a bad time to mention, but Ace never got her driver's licence. The poor streetlight never had a chance.
"Fuck! I hope that thing didn't bruise us too bad..." She said, not even bothering to look behind her. "It's gonna be a dark road this evening eh?" She sounded like a taxi driver. Slowly they started to enter the real city, where there was nothing but grafitti and tons of concrete. "You'll love this restaurant!" She boasted, "Best in the city!" Even she didn't know what the city was called.
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Post by nevermore9 on Oct 24, 2009 17:42:12 GMT -8
James wasn't sure how long it had been since his head had received a blow that hard - probably not since he told Anna, easily his favorite ex, that he had accidentally dropped her shoe into a wood-chipper. He rubbed the wound for a while, most of it being dual-mental - he felt the pain radiating from Ace's mind as well, infecting and cross-wiring his.
"God damn it, girl, how is it that you can know how to hotwire a car and not have a clue on how to avoid bright flashing shit that is pretty clearly solid?" he growled in a slur of words, not really caring to hear about the restaurant as of now. He had to admit, the more he got to hate the girl, the more he got to love her; it could have been real, or it could have been a concussion-induced blur, but she was looking better by the second.
Still, she wasn't hot enough to keep him from hastily buckling his seat-belt.
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Post by Alora on Oct 24, 2009 18:04:40 GMT -8
"Fuck you too buddy!" Was her one response to his logic. Thank God the streets were fairly empty. And the cops around these parts were entirely consisting of Jerrys who didn't know much more english than the word 'hurrumph'. (Don't mind, MVA in-joke I guess) After a long and terrifying ride, Ace swerved into a spot by the curb, severely denting the front of the car once again as she ran straight into a fire hydrant. "Cars these days don't last for shit!" She said with a sigh.
She opened her door and put out her hands to catch the drops of water that were geysering from the hydrant. "We're Here, In case you didn't notice!" She yelled as she opened the back seat of the car. "Wow, I fucked this car up..." She said, finding opening the door a little more difficult then she had originally anticipated. She kicked it and it opened right up. "Now get out. This is the Dirty Skillet!" She motioned towards the building fondly.
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Post by nevermore9 on Oct 24, 2009 19:11:55 GMT -8
By this point, James had given up on the hopes of an airbag waiting to deploy as a saving grace for his facial features. He hid a few scratches on his forehead with his hair, his lack of hydration not giving the crimson liquid much cause to run down his face. He took in a rather deep breath when the steaming junk-pile came to a violent halt, tossing around the thought of just finding his .50 caliber buddy and breaking his pacifism streak.He decided better of it when the smell of something rather decadent drifted into his nostrils. He just had to go on looking at her as a free meal.
"Wonderful. Let's see if you broke my legs or not," he mumbled teasingly as he extended his legs out of the space where the door used to be in a manner that seemed ginger even for a torture victim. His feet pressed flat on the ground, giving his body the cue to follow suit and make its way out of the car, giving it a rather wide berth. After about eight steps outwards, he found a strait path to the door and did not veer from it, keeping a close eye on Ace in hopes that she couldn't somehow get the car to magically throw itself at him in one last act of defiance.
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Post by Alora on Oct 24, 2009 19:31:34 GMT -8
Ace looked over at him, "I don't think I did, Jesus, I'm not that bad" She said with a roll of the eyes. She glanced over at his forehead, "Did you get hurt? Shit dude, get a bandaid."
She continued into the Dirty skillet- A cozy little place with a lot of heart and soul put into it's greasy secret-ingredient type meals. Do you want to know what the secret ingredient was? Grease, grease and More grease, occasionally with about 2 dozen pounds of salt, and a nice portion of cheese. Ace licked her lips. She herself wasn't that badly injured from the journey at all, being as she was lucky enough.
She took a seat in a booth and crossed her legs. From the simple, scrawled out piece of paper that served as a menu, she chose the enchilada/lasagne/thing. She wasn't quite sure. She just knew to call it 'Mike's Jolly'... A bit iffy, she thought.
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